


All According To Someone's Plan

by FactorialRabbits



Series: Families of the Third Age [1]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: a different form of dragging Maglor to Imladris, but like only a tiny bit, galadriel celeborn and elrond also appear, parental consent is not required for marriage but socially recommended, silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 03:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20753339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FactorialRabbits/pseuds/FactorialRabbits
Summary: Your beloved's missing father is the perfect betrothal gift to him, is it not?





	All According To Someone's Plan

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sat half-finished for some time. As such, have some lovely tasty silliness.

The dinner is going well, by the standards of such dinners. It is nice and small, just her and Elrond and her parents. It happens often enough - they are after all Elrond's closest loving family as well as her parents - but today is something special. His eyes are still sad, but they always are when he sees parents with their children. 

Elrond grasps her hand under the table at some point between the courses, before clearing his throat.

"Celeborn, Galadriel… may I ask something of you?" He gives them a practised if nervous smile.

From the look in her eyes, Celebrian thinks her mother already knows what is coming. Her father, however, looks slightly surprised.

"Of course, Elrond. You know we will help you any way we can," it is her father who replies.

Elrond looks to her for support, before turning back to them, "I wish to ask if I may propose to your daughter."

Celebrian knew it was coming, but blushed anyway. She felt her mother gently poke at her mind, fishing to find her opinion on the matter. Quietly, Celebrian gave her consent.

Her mother then lent to whisper something in her father's ear. He nodded, then whispered something else back.

They were of course perfectly capable of speaking in their minds, but as inclined to dramatics as anyone.

"Of course," Celeborn nodded his head. "We would be honoured to bring you closer into our family."

"And I would like permission to court him too," Celebrian smiles to her parents even as she interrupts them. 

Her mother looks at her for a long moment, before blanking her face and shielding her mind, "of course you have our permission, Celebrian, but I do not think that it is us that you should be asking."

Elrond's face visibly falls for a moment, before it forms itself to an even more forced smile. The topic of his parents has ever been sensitive.

Beneath the table, Celebrian squeezes his leg. If her mother was going to be like this, well, she would just have to find one of Elrond's parents herself.

Elwing, Eärendil and Maedhros are beyond her reach, as were his grandparents, but it is still said that Maglor still walks the earth...

* * *

That night, she sets her plan into action. It is not a fully formulated one, but enough so that she has somewhere to start before she improvises.

She leaves a note for her beloved neatly folded upon her bed, not saying exactly her purposes but hopefully enough to delay his worries. For her parents she considers a second, then realises her mother likely already knows.

To the servants in the corridors she claims restlessness - not strictly untrue - and heads towards the garden. Most of them are managed and very proper, not at all like an actual forest, not to mention the hedge maze.

It's a ridiculous thing, said to be in honour of the gardening habits of Elrond's mortal kin. She could believe that, with how it seems so out of place. The gardeners do their best, growing climbing roses and other such things into the green, but it is still distinctly out of place.

Useful, though; a great number of the local elves use the winding paths of greenery to meditate. As such she heads there - surely with her excuse attempting to calm herself with local meditative practice is a logical follow on. And if it also goes so close to the stables that any reasonably elf could, with a few grazes, climb up the Thunbergia and hop over onto the roof. From there it is only a few carefully positioned swings and twists onto Celebrian's own horse, without anyone needing to know.

So that is exactly what she does. 

And if her mother's horse follows her, well, that is only another indicator that she already knows. 

* * *

It's surprisingly easy to find someone who doesn't want to be found when you are; a) not someone they expect to be looking for them; b) used to playing hide-and-seek with silvan elves; c) trained by someone trained by a maiar in the arts if perception and precision; and most importantly d) Galadriel’s daughter and at least as stubborn. 

At least, that is what Celebrían will tell people when they ask her someday.

The actual combination of factors leading to the discovery is more likely that; a) at the moment of discovery she was running away from a surprise pack of wargs; b) even Maglor Fëanorian knows better than to fuck with a pack of wargs; c) there was literally only one way either of them could go, and it pushed them onto the same path; and d) a whole lot of wrong place right time and blind luck.

More importantly, and certainly the factors making him stay, were that she had only bought enough supplies for a month with her, she was determined that Maglor Fëanorian would at her wedding, and she was - and is - Galadriel’s somehow even more stubborn daughter.

* * *

When the adrenaline finally wears off, Celebrían finds herself up a tree with a wild-eyed Ellon staring at her. Not really sure what else to do, and seeing just how withered his form, she reaches into her pocket and hands him a packet of lembas.

He stares at her like she has spontaneously manifested a seventh head, and after a few minutes of this stand off she has to wonder if she is actually the sensible one here. 

Still, a little silliness never hurt anyone. She leans out of the branches, checking both that the wargs are gone and what time of day it is. Satisfied they are safe for now, she dipped back in and held out the lembas a little more insistently. As she watches him, she concludes to herself that just asking him her question is inadequate. Elrond would want to see him, if he knew she was with him. So see him he would.

“Good morning, cousin,” her voice is light and bright and she makes a point of sounding like she is at a ball rather than in a tree. “I am Celebrian, daughter of Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn of the Golden Wood. I believe that you are Maglor son of Feanor?”

The Ellon stares at her for long moments, before he slowly nodding and placing his knife back in its sheath.

"Oh wonderful," Celebrian smiles even more brightly. "I was looking for you. Please take the lembas; it is rather a long walk home."

He still does not speak, but takes the lembas and nibbled on it. As he does, they maintain eye contact with one another. Celebrian sees the genuine surprise that it is not poisoned, followed by him wrapping it up and tucking it away.

"I suppose you are here to bring me to justice?" Maglor sighed as he spoke, more tired than anything.

"If that is what you wish to assume. Though it is my mother who usually does the passing of judgement."

She sees Maglor tense, then bow his head further, and wonders if she should actually correct his assumption. But he looks back to her with an exhausted smile of melancholic acceptance, "I am tired… show me the way, and I shall follow. Let her judgement be passed as first of many."

Well, that was certainly easier than she had expected. Once again she leans out of the tree to check for danger, before jumping down to ground level. She lands with all the grace she can muster, then gestures for Maglor to follow her.

He stares at her, seemingly waiting for something. 

"Well come on then," she says after a moment. "We don't want to be meeting more orcs, do we?"

Celebrian doesn't wait for a reply before setting off back towards Imladris. She doesn't need to look to know who is following.

* * *

It always seems to take longer to return than to get somewhere. Such it seems to Celebrian, and this adventure is no mistake. 

She hides Maglor in her cloak, tying it up with a bright and colourful ribbon, as they reach Imladris late at night. She makes herself known to the guard - who runs off to cancel the search party - before heading to her beloved's office.

She doesn't need to knock before Elrond pulls open the door. He hugs her reverently, pressing a kiss to her hair, as Maglor freezes up.

Celebrian is just glad that neither of them run.

"Beloved, I have an engagement gift for you," she pulls away, and gestures to Maglor.

Elrond turns to look at him, as Maglor bows.

"I… Elrond, I…" Maglor stumbles over his words, cut off again as Elrond crushes him into a hug. 

It takes a few moments for Maglor to bring his arms up to embrace Elrond, only to be crushed tighter. If she hears quiet sobbing she ignores it, smiling as she watches her favourite person embrace his father for the first time in millennia.

"Lord Maglor," she only speaks once her beloved begins to pull away from his father. "As the only contactable parent of my beloved, I wish to request your consent Elrond's hand in marriage. Not that we need it, of course."

Maglor looks utterly lost, so nods his head. Elrond gives her a look; Celebrian smiles and turns to leave.

"I should let my parents know I have returned; I shall see you both at dinner?"

She does not wait for a reply before dancing off. As she leaves, she catches sight of Elrond bringing Maglor into his office, and smiles to herself. Now just to work out a way to improve upon the gift for the wedding.


End file.
